Why Wine is Wise and Linear Thinking Isn't Bad

It’s Friday afternoon as I’m writing this, and I’m sitting on my living room floor after a pretty tough week. I won’t get into why it was so challenging, other than my life revolves around juggling both people and processes, and neither one of those things are naturally simple or straightforward (can I get an Amen?).

As much as I wish it weren’t true, I can’t control the attitudes and habits of the people around me. I can control my responses to these people, but goodness knows I’ve wanted to throw my shoe at the wall a few times since Monday.

You don’t want to know how much wine I’ve had to drink this week. Luckily, wine is wise and it’s told me I need to focus on something I can actually change—developing those processes that haunt my dreams.

Despite my charge of building roles and programs in every job I’ve held since high school, despite the positive results and the clear bent toward development my career path has taken, I rarely feel equipped to create effective processes and programs.

To tell the truth, I’m a pretty linear thinker. A friend of mine recently told me this in a rather (read: very) derogatory way and it (naturally) pissed me off. Regardless of the circumstances or the offense, though, I have to admit she was right.

For a hot second, I let it get me down. Maybe this was my problem? Maybe my life was a lie and I was actually terrible at building effective processes?? Was my career going nowhere???

Newsflash: My life is not a lie. Everyone is blessed with a natural way of dealing with information. Are you living life as a creative thinker? GREAT! That means you’re thinking. Which is more than we can say for a lot of people out there.

For all my linear thinkers in the world, or for everyone out there who just thinks differently from the person sitting next to you, we’re about to talk about why you, too, can be good at developing processes and programs that work for all the various thinkers on your team.

1.    Just because you process information one way doesn’t mean you can only build processes one way. In my case, I may think in a linear fashion, but I have the ability to overlap and intertwine those lines in a way that form a complex thought structure. Essentially, my sequential thoughts connect in a way that produce wholistic or critical thought models. Don’t feel pigeon-holed because you naturally approach projects a certain way. You’re capable of using that tool in ways you may not expect.

2.    You may want to throw your shoe at someone, but learn from him first. Did I mention people are frustrating? Sometimes you just won’t sync with the people around you. You won’t understand how their brains operate. But before you dismiss them, consider the fact that they are a treasure trove of information. If you’re developing a process, get input from your team, from advisers and from superiors. Don’t try to go it alone but do be careful whose advice you seek out, lest your project get over-complicated.

3.    Get input along the way. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Nothing truly frustrates me more in a workplace than seeing wasted time and effort. Don’t spin your wheels. Do a mock up, then a rough draft. Write the process in stages if you have to. Like I said, don’t over-complicate things with 10 cooks in the kitchen, but seek input and don’t spend all your time working up something that only you will understand. You’ll just have to go back to the drawing board, and you won’t have learned anything to help you improve your work.

4.    Adaptation is key. I’m right-handed but I play pool, vacuum and sweep left-handed. I wasn’t born that way, but I learned over time to do those things left-handed out of necessity. Cleaning with one arm is tiring, for one, and I’m so short I can’t make the good shots holding the pool cue with my right hand. It’s not impossible for you to pick up on other ways of thinking. You can train your brain, and while the new methods may never be as dominant as your natural inclination, they’ll be effective enough to make your life a lot better.

5.    You don’t have to know, you just have to understand. I work with dozens of different brands who all have different personalities and goals and systems. The one thing they all have in common is that they want to sell franchises. I understand that. I can put myself in their shoes and, ultimately, provide what they need. When it comes to relating information to my team or my bosses, I don’t always get why they do what they do, but I understand what they want. My first job isn’t to get each step right, my first job is to get the big picture right. When you can relate enough to someone or a group of people, and you can peg the big picture, providing what they need in the form of an outline or process is the easy part.

This is the basic stuff and far from complete advice. It’s not even advice, just my reflection at the end of a long week. It’s not meant to teach you how to build a process, only to encourage you not to let the process beat you down. For the real savvy ones reading this, you’ll see it for what it is, an encouragement to myself. Or maybe just a reminder that I really am more equipped than I think.

All I know is that it’s Friday and I’ve rightfully graduated from wine to gin and tonic, so I better stop writing now! Thanks for reading, as always.